


Castle of Glass

by Slashseeker



Category: Destiny (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Multi, Spoilers, Tags Subject to Change/Additions
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-22
Updated: 2017-12-04
Packaged: 2019-02-05 08:43:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12790899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slashseeker/pseuds/Slashseeker
Summary: The heart of the Red Legion had been defeated, the Traveler was free, the Light was back, and the City was on the mend.The Speaker had been lost, as had too many civilians, too many Guardians. The Vanguard had much work to do to get the City right again, but how will they handle some ground-shaking, unexpected changes between them at the same time?(Title and Summary Subject to Change)





	1. And the Cracks Begin to Show

**Author's Note:**

> (Chapter title inspired by "[Cracks [feat belle humble] [flux pavillion remix]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmfNkYaroFk)" by [The Freestylers](https://genius.com/Freestylers-cracks-flux-pavilion-remix-lyrics))

It started as a low level ache behind his eyes about week after Ghaul’s defeat- nothing Zavala hadn’t dealt with before, nothing he couldn’t ignore. But then the ache remained, hovering there and slowly growing in his head. It spread out to his temples, down to pool around the back of his jaw, and even further back, along the space between the top of his spine and the base of his skull. 

His Ghost tried to help- sometimes just sitting with his eyes closed and letting Valkyrie manipulate Light through their link worked to ease the pain. Only enough to be tolerable, unfortunately, but it was enough to get him through the day. Still, it remained as constant a companion as the Light that had been returned to him. The pain got worse during the day, when he had the most work to do, of course. He tried to keep his increasingly short fuse under control, but there had been more than one occasion where he had dealt with the faction reps with more snappish-ness than their bickering had deserved. Each incident drew increasingly concerned looks from his fellow Vanguards, and it came to a head just after yet another Consensus meeting.

He had been suffering from the migraine for the better part of a month now, and this particular meeting had been especially irritating, circling around plans of future faction rallies. Listening to the three reps and Cayde sniping at each other just grated on his already overwhelmed mind. Zavala held on until it was just his fireteam left in the meeting hall before snapping his head towards the Hunter, eyes narrowing at the spike of pain the short movement caused. The Commander let his discomfort sharpen the edge of his words, “I would think you would have learned to not continue to antagonize them by this point, Cayde.”

The bite in his tone had Cayde bringing his hands up in a bewildered surrender, blinking at just how much anger it carried. He shared a look with Ikora as he replied, his own tone confused and concerned. “Whoa there, big guy. What’s gotten into you? I wasn’t any worse than I have been.”

“That is not the point, Cayde!” The constant migraine, the irritation he felt at the factions, and his usual mild irritation at Cayde’s general lack of professionalism when the situation wasn’t dire swirled into a flare of anger from the Titan. His fist hit the table with an unconscious spark as he shot upright, ready to continue berating the Hunter with gritted teeth. Only, the sudden change in elevation caused his vision to grey out and an intense wave of dizziness to wash over him instead. He swayed in place, barely aware of his teammates hurrying to his side, what with the harsh pounding of his head half-deafening him as well.

He followed the hand suddenly on his elbow, letting himself be lowered back into the seat, though this time it was turned to the side to let Ikora kneel in front of him, Cayde hovering at his side like a worried cat. It took a moment of steady breathing to be able to focus on the Warlock, and she only spoke when their eyes met.

“Zavala, you have to tell us what is going on. Something is obviously wrong.” Her voice was pitched low, concern written clear on her face and threading thick into her tone. “Talk to us.”

“Nothing is-”

“He has been dealing with a constant migraine for almost a month and I cannot tell why. Nothing is working for it, and every scan I run shows nothing out of the ordinary.”

All eyes turned to Valkyrie, the red and white Ghost hovering over the table with her points drooping in distress. She hovered over to him, slowly settling down into a blue hand that reached out for her, “I am sorry, Zavala, but they should know. They are your fireteam, after all.”

“Yeah, no, don’t apologize, glowball. Big Blue here should have told us.” Cayde shook his head, one hand reaching down to grip at Zavala’s shoulder. “A month, Zavala? That’s serious, and something we need to deal with.”

“There have been more important things to deal with here. I am-” The Titan huffed as Ikora started to speak over him- he was not going to be able to get a full sentence out, was he?

“Just one person, and can only do so much, especially now that we know what has been going on. You have been suffering for too long, and it has made you harder to work with.” She paused for a moment, amending, “Well, harder relative to your own baseline.” Cayde and herself tended to be pricklier to work with, if she was being honest. “You’ve been snappish and worn down, and everyone can tell. Zavala, you must take care of yourself, as well.” 

She sighed, shaking her head as she stood and gave Zavala a long, appraising look. Crossing one arm across her body she tucked her opposite elbow into her palm, finger curled over her chin as she thought intently. Finally letting her hand drop, she looked over at Cayde, “I am fairly certain you’ll back me on this Cayde, but...” she huffed out a breath, “Zavala, I think we’re going to have to bench you until we figure this out, unless your pain eases. And we’ll be checking in with your Ghost for that- you would just try to downplay it if we asked you.”

Zavala felt his jaw drop in surprise, the glow of his eyes almost brightening with his shock. “Ikora, we can’t do that, not now! The City and the Guardians need all three Vanguards working right now.”

“No, they need three  _ fully functional _ Vanguards. Not one that is running himself into the ground with a chronic, obviously serious migrane the whole time.” Cayde’s grip tightened further, and he shook his head before finally letting go, moving to stand by the Warlock. “Ikora’s right. I second her motion to bench you until we get your head fixed up.” He let out a low laugh, one brow plate going up as he continues, “You’re always mentioning good infrastructure, so think of it this way- if you’ve got to fix a road, you’ve got to close it off for a bit to do that, right?”

The other two Vanguards shared a look of their own before turning their attention back to Cayde, who was giving them both a flat look now. “What? We’ve worked together for how long? I know how to sweet talk both of you when I need to. Just like you can do with me. Sometimes,”

“Though I am... unsure how I feel about the metaphor, I see your point. Perhaps a few days of extra rest would help, as well.” Zavala shook his head, one hand reaching up to gingerly brush over his scalp before slowly pressing against the sore spot at the top of his neck. He bit back a groan as the ache flared for a moment, letting out his breath in a sigh. “Then I will take my leave. If there is an emergency, however...”

Ikora shook her head again, giving the other a dry smile, “We will keep you updated, but do not expect us to call you to work unless absolutely necessary. Zavala, go rest. We will see what we can do to find the cause of this.”

“Start with a nap. Might be a bit of a fix, you never know.” The Hunter shrugged, hands settling on his hips after. “I’ll see about bringing you something to eat later.”

Of course that bit was a cover, and the three of them knew it- Cayde would be checking on Zavala, and likely Ikora would follow in the morning with breakfast. As it was, no one pointed out the obvious excuse, and Zavala finally stood to leave. There was a slight hesitation to his transition from just standing to actually walking that are also all aware of, though Zavala didn’t stay long enough to allow for a conversation about it that included him.

There was a moment of quiet after Zavala left, the rest of his Fireteam still mulling over their teammate’s affliction. “I will see what I can find on any Awoken-specific illnesses- perhaps my Hidden can find something in places I cannot check myself.” Ikora was already calling her Ghost to her palm, it’s shell spinning gently as it waited for their plan of action.

“I’ll see about heading off anyone poking around for Zavala and check in with my Hunters- there are a few Awoken ones I know can keep a secret,” for a price of sorts, but he couldn’t go about giving away all his tricks, after all.

Plans confirmed, they split up, both of them keeping their thoughts on their distressed friend and Commander.


	2. Dreams and Unexpected Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cayde makes good on his promise, and Zavala has a hunch as to what might be the root of his migraine problem.

Hours later, Cayde was making good on his promise to bring Zavala something to eat- something light, but nutritious and was something that settled easy in the stomach. Glad that it wasn’t Colonel in the bowl on the tray, he headed for Zavala's room with chicken soup, a hunk of bread, and a cup of tea for the Titan. The last had been a gift to the Vanguard from Devrim Kay, sent via a Guardian returning from the EDZ after hearing that both Ikora and Zavala enjoyed tea as well.

Humming softly to himself as he arrived at the door, he gave it a couple of taps with the toe of his boot- his hands were full, after all. After a few beats of silence, he nodded to his Ghost and Deuce floated forward, connecting with the control panel that would give him entrance to Zavala’s quarters. It took a moment, but then the lock was clicking open and Cayde gently shouldered the door aside, slipping into the dim room. Luckily he could see well enough without turning the lights on, though he sighed when he finally spotted Zavala himself. Valkyrie only floated up with a soft greeting when the door shut behind the Hunter, leaving both Ghosts and Cayde’s own running lights the only light in the room.

“He has been heavily asleep for hours- he honestly had just laid back for a moment before he was out cold. I was able to transmat most of his armor off, but I thought he would have woken up by now.” The Titan had his feet on the floor,  still in his boots and the red coveralls he wore under the outer layers of armor.

“Right, well, let’s see about taking care of a couple of things here.” He set the tray down among the papers on the Awoken’s desk before moving towards the bed. The Ghost was right- usually Zavala would have woken up by the time Cayde was through the door. Perhaps a good, hard sleep really would help. Cayde moved to take a knee by Zavala’s feet, intending to get those boots off and get his friend settled more comfortably. It took a bit of fiddling, but he was finally able to get them off, and once the task was done, he was able to get the other manhandled onto the bed fully.

That task done, Cayde paused, looking at the furrowed brow Zavala had even in sleep. So, following his gut instinct, he climbed onto the bed with the other, sitting up against the headboard. It was a bit of an awkward half-twist, but he was able to place his hands on either side of the other’s head. It had been a long time since he had done this for anyone, but it was almost second nature to let his Light pool in his palms, warm and gentle, like a sunbeam filtering through the leaves of a tree.

He had done this for Andal, back when the man had been the Hunter Vanguard and Cayde himself spent more time out in the wild than he ever did in the Tower or the City. Andal could get vicious migranes of his own, and they’d discovered this little trick could ease them better than almost anything outside of a full on rez from Andal’s Ghost. It seemed to work for the Titan as well, and Cayde felt his own shoulders drop a bit with relief.

He watched Zavala sleep for a bit, thumbs stretching out to soothe ever so softly over the Awoken’s forehead, smoothing away the lingering tenderness under gently luminescent skin. He was almost unaware of the draw of sleep until he was starting to drift off, himself. It was odd- Hunters tended to sleep little, and Exos even less than that. But still, Cayde found himself losing that fight, head tipping towards his chest, even as his hands remained against Zavala’s temples.

While he slept, Cayde dreamed. Dreamed of the Deep Stone Crypt, dreamed of the army before the tower (the Tower?) in the distance. Instead of being alone, however... Zavala was beside him, and he got the vague sense of a third figure, hovering just out of his circle of perception, but there and slipping closer. Zavala burned blue against the dark, and Cayde turned his head, confused about this sudden change to the Dream (because of course this particular one is demands the capital letter) before Zavala finally met his gaze. Zavala looked confused as their eyes locked, but when he opened his mouth to speak, a harsh shockwave rippled across the dreamspace, forcing them both awake. Cayde yelped, jerking back and to the side so hard his momentum carried him off the side of the bed. Zavala jerked upright as well, gasping in a sharp breath as his brain processed the fact that he was awake now.

“Well, that was unexpected.” Of course Cayde tried to brush it off, but if he were flesh and blood he would have been blushing an intense sort of red. He was still laid out on the floor, the tumble hurting nothing but his pride, thankfully. Deuce floated above him, glancing between his Guardian and the Commander, having taken to the air when Cayde first jerked awake.

Zavala, meanwhile, was breathing hard, staring at the wall for a long moment before leaning over to look at the other Vanguard. At least the constant migraine was little more than a little extra pressure between his temples. “Cayde, why were you in my bed?”

“Well, I had originally been bringing you food, like I mentioned,” he grunts as he gets up, brushing himself off and righting his cape a little before waving at the tray on the table, “Might be cold by now, though. Found you barely on the bed.” The Exo wasn’t meeting Zavala’s gaze like he usually did, chin tucked into the scarf part of his usual wear. “Put you right. Then tried something I used to do for Andal. Seemed to help you get some actual rest... Well, until just now, at least.”

The Titan shook his head, reaching up to run a hand over his bald scalp, eyes closing with a sigh. He remembered a dream- a dark plain, a tower in the distance, and... Cayde next to him. There had been a sense that the dream was not his own, though, and it lingered as he watched the other fidgeting. Zavala knew of Awoken with powers beyond what a Guardian could do, thanks to the Techeuns of Reef. However, as far as anyone knew, no Earth-born Awoken had ever exhibited such abilities. He hesitated a moment before asking, though he felt as he already knew the answer to the second question he was about to ask. “Cayde.. Did you fall asleep here? Did you dream?”

Cayde jerked his head gaze back to Zavala, the glow of his eyes faltering once in his surprise, but then he nods. “Exos don’t tend to sleep, or dream, but,” he trailed off with a shrug, arms crossing over his chest as he paced for a handful of strides. “Yeah, what makes you ask?”

“I believe,” he trailed off, sighing a little. “I may have shared your dream. I do not know why, and only have a hunch as to how, but... I apologize for the intrusion.”

“Wait, what?” Because no one but Exos had ever experienced the Dream, and to know that Zavala saw that, saw what he had to face even as briefly as it had been, made his systems go cold. “You saw... Shit...” He started to pace, arms uncrossing and hands resting on his hips, elbows out behind him as he moved. The Dream was usually a bad sign for an Exo, a sign that a Reboot was coming for them sooner rather than later. But he couldn’t find it in himself to believe that was happening to him- the changes to it were too stark, too off for it to be Reboot related. Right?

Finally getting up to stand, the Titan moved over to him, catching one of the Hunter’s elbows to get him to slow enough for the other hand to land on Cayde’s shoulder, finally stopping his pacing. 

“Cayde, I am sorry, truly.” He is not sure what makes him continue, but looking at his teammate, something in his gut pushes the words out as something of a statement and a question at once, “But it is the dream itself that you are more upset about, and not the fact that I was there as well?”

His jaw dropped for a second, because yeah, that’s what had him wound up- Zavala wasn’t giving any sign he knew what he saw was, either. “Okay big guy, but this is getting creepier by the moment. What the hell is going on? Because it’s seeming like you’re reading my mind here.”

Zavala pulled his hands back after a moment, and he rubbed one over his face. “I am not positive that it is what I believe it is, but you may have hit the bullseye with that statement.” Shaking his head, he turned to armor up again. “I need Ikora’s thoughts on this, and perhaps try to find out why this is starting to happen.”

“Wait, so you’re saying you actually are reading my mind? What am I thinking right now? I’m thinking it really hard at you.” The first two fingers of each of Cayde’s hands went to his temples, as if using the pose as a focus. Zavala knew him well enough to see the worry in the set of Cayde’s posture even through the teasing, the slight dimness of his eyes- they’d been working together for years now, after all.

The Commander shook his head, his Ghost transmatting his armor on from the boots, up. “No, Cayde, I am not going to play your game, not right now.” He could feel his usual Cayde-induced-headache (which was more the vague notion of a headache than any real discomfort at this point in their friendship) starting to build again. “Plus, I do not believe it works like that, either.” It was just a few more moments before he was fully armored, finally heading for the door. “Let’s go. I do not plan on letting you stay in here unsupervised.” If there was the faintest hint of a grin at the corner of his mouth at the dryly-delivered line, it was gone in a moment as he waited by the door, watching the Hunter flatly.

“Fine, fine, I’m moving, I’m moving.” Cayde shook his own head, walking over to Zavala and slipping past the Titan as he opened the door. “No trust sometimes, I swear. But I am guessing we’re going back to Ikora’s spot, then?”

“You are off shift, Cayde- you can go off on your own, you know.”

“And miss this? Never.” He strolled next to Zavala, following surprisingly quietly, at least until they hit the main plaza of their new Tower. “Nice night, at least. Hopefully we can catch her without too many Guardians around.” Due to just how many different day/night cycles any given Guardian could be ‘set’ to, there tended to be a 24/7 crew working on the Tower- with the recent war being an exception, of course. But that also meant that one of the Vanguard was expected to be available overnight, as well, ready to wake the other two in case of an emergency. They rotated daily, thankful to the fact that Guardians tended to need much less sleep on the whole to dull the effects of said shift. Of course Cayde had the largest ‘advantage’ of them all, though Ikora and Zavala both were loathe to have him take more than two shifts in a row if they had to, much less for longer.

They finally reached Ikora’s chosen spot, thankfully mostly empty of either Guardians or civilians. The Hunter she was talking to glanced over their shoulder when she looked past them with curiosity tinged with concern, and spotting the other two Vanguard, they turned back to to make their excuses and ducked away with a respectful nod to the other two as they passed. Ikora waited until they were alone before speaking up, looking between them. “So what is going on? Because you should still be resting, Zavala.”

Somehow, it wasn’t surprising to her that Cayde had come with the Titan- the Exo had been just as worried as she was, after all, and neither of their research had turned up anything so far. She gave him a questioning look, glancing to the Awoken for a moment before her gaze returned to the Hunter.

Cayde waved his hand a little, sidling over to the safety railing and leaning against it. “So, Big Blue over here might be able to read minds now. Could explain the headaches- I’d know I’d get migraines if I had to hear the rest of the Consensus’ brains, too.”

The flippancy made Zavala sigh, and he ran a hand over his bald head for the second time in the last twenty minutes as Ikora’s eyes landed on him once more. “It seems that I may have... shared a dream with Cayde, at the least.” The raised eyebrow that pulled from the Warlock had the Titan clearing his throat a little before he continued, leaving further explanation for just how that ended up happening for later.

“We know that Reefborn Awoken can have powers of telepathy- their Tech Witches are proof enough of it. But you were born here on Earth. You have never had those powers, as far as you have made us aware of.” Ikora crossed her arms, studying Zavala’s face as her mind turned over possibilities.

“Unless he’s been keeping it a secret for, well, centuries, at this point. And, all things considered, doesn’t seem like the biggest possibility,” Cayde piped up with a shrug, glancing between the other two.

“No, I didn’t.” His tone was wry, and he grabbed one of the chairs from a table that populated the common area just beyond Ikora’s claimed space, sitting on it for the moment. “And if it is the case that I have them now, that then begs the question of how it happened, as well as what to do next.”

“So, what, we try to contact the Reef? See if we can get a consult with one of these witches or something?” Cayde shook his head, pushing away from the railing to wander a little as he talked. “Not going to happen- they’re not about to send one of them out here, and it’s not like you’d go out there instead.”

“I agree that it would most likely be something that requires a meeting like that to be in person.” Ikora shook her head, brows drawing together as she tried to think. “Now that we have this lead, I could reach out to my contacts in the Reef to see if there is anyone that could assist us besides a Tech Witch.”

“Or... I could go.”

That brought everyone, Exo, human, and Ghost, to a sudden halt. All focus was on Zavala, shocked into staring at that. The only time Zavala had left the City since becoming Vanguard was when he had been driven from it by force. For him to offer to go, with seemingly no deliberation, was frankly inconceivable. Or it had been until just a breath ago.

“What? Someone, please tell me I am not glitching out right now, because I could swear Zavala just said he could go to the Reef.” Cayde’s voice was thick with disbelief, eyes wide and brow plates up as far as they could go.

Ikora’s gaze turned calculating, once she got over her surprise. “I think that could be the best course of action.” Cayde let out a strangled noise, once again caught off guard, but the Warlock ignored it in favor of continuing. “We already cleared you for leave for the next three days. It might be enough time to actually allow for a meeting. However, you would not be going alone.”

“What?! Ikora, you too?” The Hunter’s voice crackled around the outburst, the lights in his mouth flickering along with the words.

“No, Cayde, I am not going anywhere. I meant with a Fireteam of Guardians- one team in particular.” They would have to be careful enough as it was if Zavala was going to leave the City, there was no way they could afford two have two out of the three Vanguards out in the field during the recovery. “You should both know the one I am thinking of.”

“I believe I do. I agree with the caution, though we would want to reach out to them immediately if we do not want to lose time to go through this.” The Titan nodded, leaning forward and bracing his forearms against his thighs. The migraine was still dulled, and Zavala made a note to see just where Cayde had picked up that trick of his.

“So, let me make sure I am getting this absolutely right. You, Zavala, Mister I Helped Actually Build These Walls, are actually going to fly out of the City, off planet, all the way out to the Reef with the Guardians that kicked Ghaul’s ass and their Cryptarch Warlock buddy?” Cayde looked between the other two, crossing his arms and cocking one hip. “... I can’t believe it. It’s a plan not even I would have come up with. Now you’ve got me doubting my sanity here, guys.”

Zavala let out a low huff, the corner of his mouth crooking upwards with amusement at Cayde’s teasing. “I cannot say that I haven’t picked up a few tricks from you at this point. But yes, at it’s base level, that is the plan it seems we will be working with.”

The Hunter Vanguard shrugged after a long moment, giving his head a shake before continuing. “Well okay then, I guess we’re going with it. I can rustle up the Guardians if you want to get stuff together for the trip, Zavala.”

“And I will reach out to the Reef. They may feel more generous with some forewarning.” Ikora’s Ghost was already moving to hover over the tablet she had set down on the table next to a few of her books, setting up an encrypted channel for the communications that were about to happen.

“Very well. I will pack.” He stood, looking between his teammates for a quiet beat before continuing, “And thank you both. I should have spoken to you sooner. Perhaps we would have found an easier way to go about this if I had.” He gave them an apologetic nod, feeling regretful for his behavior.

“Maybe, but we’re dealing with it now. I’m gonna head out- pretty sure I know just where to find those three.” Cayde waved as he turned to trot away, humming a little to himself as he went.

“I agree with Cayde. I am just glad we are aware of it now, rather than it coming up during the middle of an emergency.” Ikora finally closed the distance between she and Zavala, reaching out to rest her hand on his arm once he was in reach. “Remember what I said earlier- we are your fireteam. We are here to help you just as much as you help us.”

“I know, and I will endeavour to keep it at the forefront of my mind in the future.” He gave her a proper, if small, smile. “Sometimes it is easy to forget that it applies to more than just the protection of the City.”

They held the quiet moment after for a few extra beats before finally pulling apart. They each had their tasks to complete, especially with their short window of opportunity. Three days could go in a blink, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I was apparently super motivated and was able to finish this chapter out. Now to work on the rest of this story.


	3. Enter the Fireteam

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, just what team did Ikora have in mind to act as Zavala's escort?

Silver-14 let out a low sigh as they watched Dice-5 eye the remainder of Talib's meal- Exos could eat, even if they didn't need it, and the Hunter had a bad habit of stealing the rest of the Warlock's food if he ignored it for too long. The Awoken would grumble and give her a flat look, and after the fourth time, his 'You don't even need to eat' carried a long-suffering dryness to it. It played out yet again as Talib's attention remained on his tablet, engrossed by the latest updates on the Cryptarchs' findings about an encrypted archive from Titan. Dice reached out slowly, taking her time to hook a finger over the edge of Talib's bowl and, in fractions of inches, slid it over to be in front of her instead. It was only when the former Cryptarch reached for his fork that he realized the theft had happened, and he sighed as he looked over at his teammate with that well-known flat look.

As per usual, Dice instead twirled her purloined fork, wrapping the pale yellow noodles around it, giving him a perky, "You'd eat faster if you were actually hungry. And Exos can still use it for fuel, even if we don't need it." The reply had Talib sighing, and Silver shaking their head a little. They were interrupted before they could pipe up with an admonishment for their partner, however.

"Well, well, well, look who we have here. If it isn't my favorite Guardians, eating in one of my favorite restaurants." The trio looked over their shoulders at the familiar voice, and Cayde slipped into the empty chair next to Silver, the Titan's broad pauldrons having kept that spot clear. "Been keeping busy, I've noticed."

Silver shifted in their seat to keep from accidentally bumping Cayde with said pauldron as they twisted to give Cayde a raised browplate. "Most of that has been jobs for you and the rest of the Vanguard, after all. What do you need us for now?" Because if Cayde was just wandering the city, he would have joined them without announcing himself, adding his order to their bill. It wouldn't have been the first time a Guardian picked up the Hunter Vanguard's tab like that, but the way the other Exo had greeted them carried the air of Vanguard Business.  
  
Said Vanguard brought a hand to his chest in mock offense, the innocence in his posture and expression obviously a facade. "What, I can't just join in without needing something?"

"Boss, the last time you just joined in, you had already ordered a round for the bar, on our tab mind you, before you tried to convince Talib to go drink for drink with you." One advantage of being an Exo was the actual ability to speak perfectly clear with a mouthful of food, and Dice swallowed even as she finished her sentence. "I'm with Silver here, something is up and you need our help."

Reaching for his stolen bowl, Talib set his tablet down and pulled it close to him again, reaching for the spoon he had set aside earlier with his other hand. "I already knew better than to try and keep up with an Exo while drinking, thank you very much. But I must agree with my teammates- there is something that is happening, isn't there?"

Cayde sighed as the three eyed him, glancing around before leaning in, voice dropping a little to avoid anyone overhearing him. "Okay, so there might be something going down, but I don't want to talk about it here. Trying to keep this on the down low as much as possible, so I'll hold onto the details for now. And yeah, we're going to need you three." Leaning back a little, he shrugged, continuing, "Nothing too hard for you, though- just a trip out to the Reef for a couple of days."

That had the fireteam sharing a glance, even as Talib put a spoonful of spicy ramen broth in his mouth. Silver tilted their head a little, and Dice shrugged, "Not like we haven't been keeping close to the City since we took out Ghaul. Could do with a longer trip."

That was true- since that final fight with Ghaul, Silver had taken to sticking around the Tower, though they did go more than a few rounds in the Crucible. Dice had been helping recon through the City itself, clearing out the lingering pockets of Cabal in the more devastated areas. Talib, meanwhile, had been sharpening his own skills as a Warlock, taking more patrols in the EDZ. Decades as a Cryptarch had rusted much of that skillset, but his dedication to learning had made it easier for him to polish them back into usefulness. Once a Guardian, always a Guardian, apparently.

"Right, well, I guess you've got us, Cayde. When do we get the full briefing and head out?" Silver looked back to Cayde, mind already making a checklist of what they needed to restock on before they headed out.

"Great, perfect. As far as that briefing? Well, I'll give it to you as we walk, and you'll be heading out as soon as you can," and Cayde took a moment to nod towards Talib's remaining food, "so you'll probably want to get that wrapped. This is pretty time sensitive, after all."

Without looking, Dice reached over with the fork, spearing the last piece of pork out of the bowl, ignoring Talib's spluttered protests, "Nothing left worth wrapping now."

When they finally left the restaurant (with what was left of Talib's meal, half to spite Dice's assessment, and half because he actually was still hungry), Cayde led them directly for the hangar. Along the way, he finally filled them in on what their task actually was, ending with, "So, to summarize- you guys keep an eye on Zavala, and make sure he gets to the Reef, has his meeting, and back without much trouble in 72, now closer to 67 hours."

Talib nodded, poking at the screen of his tablet as they walked, already doing research of his own through the archives he had access too, focusing on the Reef and what they knew of Reefborn powers. "I will see if there is something in the Archives that might help as well- I know Ikora has her sources, but perhaps looking into this with a different perspective can reveal options that were not available before."

Silver hummed a little, optics on the ground for a long moment before they looked up at Cayde again, "And you said the Commander has been dealing with this for a month? So, since the Traveler woke up, and everyone else got their Light back? Maybe it's all because of that?"

The Titan nearly ran into Cayde as the other Exo stopped suddenly, jaw open as he stared at Silver for a beat. They ducked their shoulders a little, continuing sheepishly, "Well, I mean, Light feels different now, after all, right? And I know Defender Titans that can't call their Ward of Dawn anymore, not like they used to."

"You know, it's been the same for the Bladedancers I know- it's like their skills were reset when the Traveler woke back up." Dice nodded from next to Silver, having returned to the group after continuing to walk when Cayde stopped.

"It would make sense for the return of the Light in such a way that it woke up other abilities in those who were already Light-touched." Talib hummed, already making a mental note to document the results of this trip.

Cayde finally shook his head, letting out a single, surprised laugh. "You know, I don't think any of us put that together. Trust a Titan to point out the obvious thing that everyone else missed. Right, well, that's definitely something to ask about when you get to the Reef."

They finally piled into the elevator that would take them up to the hanger, and Cayde opened a comm-line, pulling in Zavala, Ikora, and the three in the elevator with him, "So, I got the fireteam, and you're going to smack yourselves because Silver here pointed out something we all missed."  
  
"I am also on my way to the hanger. What is it that we missed?" Zavala's voice came through four sets of mics, and the fireteam muted their comms in favor of just listening in via Cayde's.

"So, you've been dealing with the migraine for a month, right? What happened a month ago?"

There was a pause on the other end of the line, and it was Ikora's little 'oh' that broke through first as she caught onto that train of thought. "Our Light was taken, and then returned. And there have been many who say that they have new skills, ones that they did not have before Ghaul's caging of the Traveler."  
  
"Bingo. So, it's probably the same thing with Zavala's head- the Light coming back turned something on in there that had been off before. Definitely something that you might want to bring up when you get to the Reef, Zavala." The doors to the elevator opened up to the open space of Amanda's new hanger, "So, we waiting on you to see everyone off, Ikora?"  
  
"No- I must stay as I am waiting on one of my Hidden to get back to me. Though, I will wish you all luck, and safe travels." There was a pause, along with the click of a line being muted, "Keep an eye on Zavala, though. He will likely try pushing himself harder than he should, now that we have a plan of action. We may be closer to resolving the issue, but he still is technically on leave, and should keep resting until we can deal with his migraine."  
  
"Yes, ma'am. Leave it to us." Silver responded immediately, straightening up as they always did when Ikora asked them to do something. Dice rolled her optics a little- the Titan's crush on the Warlock Vanguard was almost ridiculous. Then again, Silver had a crush on all members of the Vanguard, plus a handful of others. Her partner was a romantic disaster sometimes, but at least it was harmless.  
  
"Thank you. Ah, I must go now, but keep me updated." The line finally clicked off as Ikora dropped from the call, Cayde following shortly after as he spotted Zavala talking with Amanda. He half jogged over to the other two, the trio of Guardians following behind him at a more sedate pace.

"Well, I grabbed the team. You all ready to go, Big Blue?"  
  
Zavala nodded, Valkyrie hovering at his shoulder. "Amanda has cleared one of the larger jumpships for our transport." The Commander gave the three Guardians an amused nod, "Unfortunately, Guardians tend to have single-passenger ships, and she pointed out that it would probably be for the best if we all traveled via one vehicle rather than four."  
  
"As long as it's got controls, I can fly it." Dice cocked a hip, giving an Exo's grin to Amanda, who just rolled her eyes even as she grinned in reply.  
  
"She's a cargo ship, so she's not going to handle as well as your usual. Still should make the jump to the Reef in about the same time, though. Got her fueled up and ready to go as soon as you can get through your preflight checks." She pointed towards the ship in question- a boxy thing that had a well-worn green paint-job. Dice nodded before heading for the ship, leaving the others to finish up.  
  
"Thank you, Amanda. Your assistance is greatly appreciated." Zavala nodded to her, and the Shipwright grinned back.  
  
"Any time. Just get back alright and we'll call it even."  
  
"Right, well, let's get you loaded up. We're killing the time we have left, and the longer we stick around, the sooner the factions can figure out you're not around. I really don't want to have to deal with the rest of the Consensus without you." Cayde clapped his hands together, and the group finally followed after Dice.  
  
Cayde caught Zavala's arm as the Titan moved to climb up the ramp into the ship after the other Guardians, and he turned with a curious tilt of his head. Cayde shook his head a little, hesitating for a moment before murmuring, "Take care of yourself out there, Zavala, alright?"  
  
Zavala nodded, reaching out to give the Exo's shoulder a squeeze. "Of course. I will see you in a few days, Cayde."  
  
He held the contact for a moment before finally letting go and heading up into the ship. Cayde stepped back as the ramp finally closed, watching for a long moment before half jogging back to Amanda to watch the ship lift off it's supports, floating out of the hanger bay before spinning and picking up speed towards the line of the horizon. Then came the distinctive boom of a ship hitting the speed of sound as they started their interplanetary jump, and Cayde let out a sigh. He wasn't able to dwell long, what with Amanda turning on him, arms crossed an eyebrow raised.  
  
"So, you want to tell me what's actually going on?" They'd known each other too long for Cayde to stall her with BS, and he ran a hand over his head before resettling the hood of his cloak.  
  
"Well, it's a bit of a story, so let's head somewhere a bit more private." He paused, adding, "Maybe someplace with liquor. I could use a drink."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now we get to meet the OC fireteam I have with a friend of mine- the Titan's mine, the Hunter is theirs, and we share the Warlock.


	4. In the Interim, Conversations Happen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short intermission

Now, Silver liked Zavala. Probably more than they should, but then again, Silver tended to like a lot of people more than they should. Dice teased them about it constantly, and there was more than one occasion that they had to use more... amorous means to quiet said teasing and to prove that the Hunter was the first in their affections. The trip to the Reef would take just about a half hour, and Silver found themself glancing at their Vanguard more than once before catching themself and looking away again. Luckily Zavala had taken this chance to rest, and Silver had to admit it was... almost odd to see the elder Titan like that.

The Commander had let his eyes drift shut after they broke into the slipstream, and over several minutes his chin had dipped forward, until it was tucked amongst the layers of his red coveralls and the suit underneath. The position also made his breathing a bit more audible, though perhaps that was just because Silver was focused so keenly on him. The Exo shook themself a little, realizing they had been staring yet again, and instead got up to head for the cockpit. Ducking through the door, they stepped up to the back of the pilot's chair, one arm resting over the top of it as they peered down at their partner. "So, the Commander is taking a nap."

"And lemme guess, you came in here because you kept watching him?" Yellow optics glanced up at them, her antenna perking a bit with the teasing. If Silver could blush, they would, but instead they gently pushed at the Hunter's head. She laughed, leaning away from their hand, batting it away with one of her own even as she kept the other on the controls. "Your crush is adorable, you know."

"Not so loud!" The words were hissed in a half panic, and Silver glanced over their shoulder. Zavala hadn't heard, luckily, and Talib was still intensely engrossed in his tablet (and eating the rest of his noodles out of the takeout container with a disposable spork). "Listen, I do not have a crush, I just... appreciate him."

"And Cayde, and Ikora, and Shaxx, and I am pretty sure if you end up spending enough time around him, Saladin, too." Dice laughed again as Silver pushed her once more, the Titan's voice spluttering in embarrassment. "It's cute as hell, especially when you get all flustered about it."

Ducking their head against the arm draped across the back of the pilot's seat, Silver muttered, "That's it, I'm quitting the fireteam and leaving you. I'll just go live in the Crucible, I guess." Of course, every word was more than clear enough, and Dice laughed at them again.

"Sure, Silver, I believe you. Just like I believe the boss when he says he'll pay us back for those drinks that one time." Which was not at all, of course. Getting glimmer for patrols didn't count as a reimbursement for that, after all. "You are such a romantic disaster sometimes."

"I hate everything." Silver let out a heavy, electronic-tinged sigh before finally lifting their head again. "Though... It is kinda weird not to see him, well, looking commanding, yanno?"

Leaning over in her chair a little, Dice looked back into the passenger compartment, taking in the napping Vanguard for a moment before settling back into her seat. "Yeah, I can definitely see that. But then again, pretty much everyone looks different when they're sleeping. Kinda hard to look intimidating when a person is out cold, after all. Except for Shaxx. Pretty sure he sleeps in his helmet, though, so that kind of disqualifies him."

Silver snorted as Dice glanced up at them with an Exo grin, and they rolled their optics fondly. "Yeah, alright. I take your point, this time. And I will say again- I do not have a crush on him."

"Yeah, sure, Silver. You keep telling yourself that." Dice shook her head, reaching up and behind her to pat the Titan on the arm. "I'll stay here in Reality, waiting for you to catch up."

The tease just pulled a grumble from them, and they shook their head before heading back into the small passenger section. The Exo moved to peer at Talib's tablet upside down with their forearm braced on the bulkhead above his head, earning a raised eyebrow from the Warlock even as he chewed on his mouthful of noodles. Once said mouthful was swallowed, he kept his voice low in deference to the sleeping Vanguard, "Can I help you, Silver?"

"Eh, just being nosy. Find anything interesting?" They shrugged a little, and the Awoken man shook his head with a sigh.

"Unfortunately my research has found nothing useful as of yet. Powers such as telepathy are rare, and before the birth of the Awoken it was practically unheard of. Of course, it could be that that data was lost during the collapse, but a skill such as that would have been remarked upon, even in passing." He paused, then shrugged, "There are any number of possibilities, but I will continue to work with what I have for now. I will also see if the Reef's Cryptarchs have anything that I may access and take notes of on this topic, as well."

"Right. Well, let us know, I guess. But hopefully we'll be able to get a meeting with the Tech Witches we got briefed on."

"Actually, their proper name is the Techeuns. It may be more advantageous to use that when discussing them when we reach the Reef- they command a great deal of respect there, from what I could glean from what parts of the Archive we have managed to salvage." His tone was heavy with regret- the Archives had been the pride of the Cryptarchy, and their near total destruction dealt a significant blow to knowledge on the whole.

"Techeuns. Right, I'll keep that in mind." Silver hummed softly before straightening again. "Well, we've got another," there was a split second pause as the Exo checked their internal clock, "ten minutes before we get there. Hopefully we get a non-hostile sort of welcome. The Reef's been quiet since the Red Legion hit the City."

The Warlock let out his own little hum, nodding. "Rahool mentioned sending a message to Ives about the Archives after Ghaul's defeat, and it seemed like it reached its destination at the least. Then again, Ives and Rahool never had the best relationship, so no reply was expected, but at the very least it did not bounce as undeliverable."

"At least there's that. At this point, we've just got to get there and see what happens when we do." The Titan shrugged, finally moving to settle back in their own seat after Talib agreed with another hum. They couldn't help their eyes drifting back to the Titan Vanguard, watching the man continue to rest.

Hopefully they were able to find the Reef in condition to help them, if only for Zavala's sake. The man had done so much for the City, for Earth and humanity in general, it was more than time for the man to get some of that help in return.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some light filler, but I wanted to provide you folks an update of some sort. Next chapter we actually get to the Reef!

**Author's Note:**

> I want to give a HUGE shout out to the follow set of works and their amazing authors for helping me build my own characterizations of these characters;
> 
> [Two Kinds of Steel](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5710174) by [occasional_boy_reporter](http://archiveofourown.org/users/occasional_boy_reporter/pseuds/occasional_boy_reporter)
> 
> [Infinite Recursion Error](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12419679) by [LEAUX](http://archiveofourown.org/users/LEAUX/pseuds/LEAUX)
> 
> [From Stars: Collection](http://archiveofourown.org/series/865359) by [ofWolves](http://archiveofourown.org/users/ofWolves/pseuds/ofWolves)
> 
> I also want to thank a good friend of mine who writes a Zavala to my Cayde, and this is dedicated to her as well. I already have (the majority of?) a second chapter mostly completed, so hopefully I'll be able to get it up shortly.


End file.
